In a Mirror, Darkly Part 2
In the mirror universe In The USS Defiant NCC-1764 '' |image= |series= |production=095 |producer(s)= |story= Manny Coto |script=Michael Sussman |director= Marvin V. Rush |imdbref=tt0572220 |guests=Gary Graham as Crewman Soval, Gregory Itzin as Admiral Black, John Mahon as Admiral Gardner, Derek Magyar as Ensign Kelby and Majel Barrett as Defiant Computer (voice) |previous_production=In a Mirror, Darkly Part 1 |next_production=Demons |episode=ENT S04E19 |airdate=29 April 2005 |previous_release=In a Mirror, Darkly Part 1 |next_release=Demons |story_date(s)=18 January 2155 |previous_story=In a Mirror, Darkly Part 1 |next_story=Demons }} Summary Previously 92 years after an alternative version of First Contact, which resulted in the deaths of the Vulcan landing party, and the ransacking of their ship, Commander Jonathan Archer, first officer of the Terran Empire flagship ISS Enterprise NX-01, seizes command from Captain Maximilian Forrest. he does this after the latter refuses to divert the ship to investigate a Tholian shipyard believed to contained advanced technology, which will allow the Empire to crush a worsening rebellion. After torturing a Tholian pilot for coordinates, Archer orders a change of course to the shipyard, and tells Commander T'Pol, whom he promotes to first officer, to install a Suliban cloaking device with Commander Tucker, who is injured when the cloaking device is sabotaged. Archer also has Sato send a message to Starfleet about their mission to raid the Tholian technology. T'Pol leads a team to free Forrest and reclaim the ship, but Archer encrypts navigation control to prevent a course change. When the crew receives word that Starfleet agrees with Archer's plans, Archer shows images of an alternate universe vessel from the future named USS Defiant ), that has technology and power that is a century more advanced than ISS Enterprise. On arriving at the shipyard, Archer, T'Pol, and Tucker transport across, and Tucker begins powering up the vessel. Tholian vessels then attack, creating an energy web around Enterprise. Forrest orders the crew to abandon ship but remains behind as the ship is destroyed. Conclusion Several Tholian ships then create a web over the opening of the dock to prevent Defiant from leaving. T'Pol and Tucker restore power to the weapon systems, allowing Defiant to destroy enough enemy vessels to escape the trap. They recover 47 survivors from Enterprise, and Tucker is ordered to restore power to the warp drive. Sato goes to the captain's quarters and finds Archer perusing the ship's historical records, which includes parallel universe information about Starfleet, the United Federation of Planets, and their service records. Archer is surprised to learn his counterpart is an acclaimed and distinguished explorer, diplomat and politician. Ensign Kelby is killed trying to repair the warp drive, and the crew discover, from Tholian slaves left on board, that a Gorn named Slar has sabotaged the ship. Archer, after hearing voices telling him to achieve more fame and honor, decides to lead an assault team and kills the Gorn. Tucker is able to repair the warp drive and the ship then leaves to rendezvous with the ISS Avenger, arriving in time to save it from four rebel spacecraft. Avenger's commanding officer Admiral Black comes aboard for an inspection accompanied by his first officer, Soval. After Black refuses Archer's request for captaincy of the new ship, Archer disintegrates him with a phaser pistol. Archer gives a speech to the officers of both ships, saying that they should move against Starfleet and the Empire. Soval and T'Pol meet, contemplating a future where alien species are respected and treated as equals; they convince Phlox to join their movement and sabotage Defiant. As the sole alien allowed to remain on board, he succeeds in disabling the ship's systems. Soval, on Avenger, then attacks, but Tucker disables Phlox and restores power. Defiant destroys its attacker. When Sato and Archer celebrate in the captain's quarters, Archer dies after being poisoned by Sato and we see that Mayweather is now in league with Sato. Reaching Earth on the advanced and powerful Defiant, Sato contacts Admiral Gardner, demanding his surrender and declaring herself "Empress Sato". Errors and Explanations Trivia # Rather than continue to wear the bulky EV suits they came aboard in, Archer, Reed, T'Pol, Tucker, and Mayweather raid the closets of the Defiant and don TOS-style uniforms. According to Mike Sussman, the away team beamed aboard in the EV suits mainly so that there would be a reasonably believable explanation for why the crew would wear them. The use of EV suits could be standard practice in this type of away mission, to provide protection from radiation or life support failure. # In the opening scene, Reed tells Archer that the shields are functioning and Archer says "raise them!", but their Enterprise has Hull plating, not shields. Archer shouldn't know that shields can be raised. The Terran Empire in this reality could be advanced enough for their ships to have energy shields in place of hull plating, especially if they have been using Vulcan technology since First Contact. Character error # In his speech to the assembled crew, Archer says that the Terran Empire has existed "for centuries". This is impossible. He is speaking in 2155, and Terrans first learned that there were other planets out there to conquer in 2063. This gives them fewer than 92 years in which to build a trans-planetary empire. It could be an offshoot from a terrestrial empire. Continuity # When Archer and his team go in search of the Gorn they are seen climbing up a Jeffries tube to his last known location using a triangular ladder (which is actually a common outdoors antenna mast). In the previous episode a crew member was seen climbing up the same Jeffries tube using steps on the side with no ladder. This could be a different Jeffries tube. Revealing mistakes # When Archer is speaking with Admiral Gardner, the admiral moves around the room he's in, and the camera pans and moves along with him. This is the only instance in the entire series in which a bridge camera pans. This could be a mobile camera. Nit Central # The Undesirable Element on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 7:18 pm: Well that Gorn was certainly the spry fellow wasn't he? Pretty different from the famous slow-as-a-snail Gorn that hobbled around fighting Kirk. This is a MU Gorn here! Notes Category:Episodes Category:Enterprise